M&G

Made by the people

Stationery for a new generation

Though M&G is the No. 1 stationery brand in China with a network of 20,000 stores, it was feeling the effects of increased competition, market share erosion, and rapid adoption of digital formats. M&G came to Landor for help harnessing its huge retail footprint to engage a younger Chinese audience—one hungry for self expression.

A brand for the people, by the people

Instead of creating a retail experience for the people, M&G created its experience with the people. We held multiple workshops with members of target groups to co-create a fun, agile brand that lets consumers be a part of the action.

These workshops were also critical in defining the in-store experience, product innovation, and product range. The result: a store experience truly designed for the people by the people. One that can continuously evolve and change through regular input and engagement from customers.

Co-creators make their mark (literally)

M&G’s new design system features illustrations made by M&G customers, marked with their own signatures.

Putting a finger on the solution

M&G’s handprint identity inspired a look and feel system based on fingerprints.

Putting the power in customers’ hands

And the digital app we designed lets customers use their own fingerprints to create characters and share them with the world.

An interactive community serves customers best

The new co-created brand crossed product lines. And customers voted for the illustrations they wanted to see in-store. Now M&G supplies what its customers truly want.

Discovering hidden treasures

M&G has thousands of SKUs—and we weren’t about to change that. We worked with M&G to turn this challenge into an asset. Where the old store experience was overwhelming, the new one is exciting, encouraging customers to find hidden treasures and discover M&G’s huge range of products.

Building brand communities

But a co-created brand wasn’t all. M&G wanted its connection with customers to continually evolve and endure. We built an in-store experience area where customers can express themselves and contribute to the brand’s development, both visually and conceptually.

Results to write home about

The launch, workshop, test store, and visual system were a resounding success, returning a 15 percent increase in revenue per square meter.

This convinced M&G to roll out the entire concept at the rapid rate of 10 stores per month, with the aim of completing the rebrand across 500 stores in just two years.